


Mission: Outside (prinxeity/logicality)

by Acesandclubs



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Light Angst, Multi, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-14 08:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14765789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acesandclubs/pseuds/Acesandclubs
Summary: The crew of Virgil Sollicitus (The mechanic), Roman Claudius (The captain), Patton Kardia (The mental health practitioner and cook), and Logan Cerebrum (The physical doctor and data collector/reader) all venture into space on their first mission, where they travel outside our galaxy into the unknown. the adventure ahead is daunting, will they crack?Original space exploration AU, possible slow updates but I'll try and write a lot since it's summer!(prinxiety and logicality, Deceit is there but he ain't evil :) have fun~)





	1. Discovery

The craft whirred to life under the crew’s feet as a calm, trained voice sounded over the coms. 

 

“This is mission control. We are sending you off, engage safety protocol 29-B/2, and you should arrive at your destination soon after waking from cryosleep.”

 

“Affirmative mission control.” the crew replied in unison as they began engaging the first stages of flight protocol and readying the sleep chambers.

 

This was the first mission beyond the Milky Way into another sector. Their mission was to drift and collect various types of data. All of them were calm on the surface, but the atmosphere in the ship was stifling, all apprehensive and nervous. 

 

Patton Kardia, the ship’s cook and mental wellness practitioner, was currently prepping cryo-chambers with Virgil Sollicitus, the ship’s mechanic. Virgil always made sure everything was checked and double checked, which was probably why he was picked for this mission. Roman Claudius, the captain, was with Logan Cerebrum, the data examiner and physical doctor, they were discussing the mission objectives while locking down equipment and starting flight and cryo protocol on the system. So far everything was going according to plan with everything, no mishaps to be found

 

They all finished with their work and Roman commed in one last time to inform Base that they were beginning cryo process. They all migrated to the pods, although a bit hesitant, they all entered and engaged the safety and started the process of freezing themselves for deep space travel. 

 

XxXxX

 

Virgil felt himself slowly rousing from his foggy sleep. He was cold. Very very cold. He opened his eyes as his frosted lashes stuck. He slowly reached up and disengaged the lock on his cryopod and sat up carefully. He took in a breath of the ship’s filtered air and looked over to see his crewmates rising as well, captain already standing and helping Patton stand as he yawned. Virgil wiped his eyes and got up as well, Logan sending a glance in his direction. Patton skipped over to Virgil excitedly with a huge smile. 

 

“Good Mornin Pal! How’d ya sleep?” he asked cheerfully. 

 

“I slept great, thanks Pat.” Virgil replied, giving a rare genuine smile, even if it was small. That just made Patton’s smile widen. 

 

“Glad to hear! Well, there sure is a lot of work to be done! I gotta go prepare my ward and the kitchen, you should talk to the captain about assignments,” Pat said with a little wink.

 

“Yeah yeah, go do your magic, Catch ya later Pat.”

 

Patton hopped off with Logan following behind. Virgil sighed at the thought of having to approach the captain. He was normally really boisterous, and didn't have any qualms with poking fun at him. He did not want to deal with that when he just woke up. He sighed and stepped out of the cryo room into the quiet hallway. The corridor was covered in white paneling that gave an airy mood, and it was wide to add to the effect. Virgil knew every bit of what was behind those panels and how it worked. He stretched and examined his space issued clothing, a thin but tough skin suit that armor or other accessories could be attached. It was a tasteful black and purple for his rank as mechanic, whereas the captain’s was white and red, the cook had his light blue and grey suit, and the data collector and reader had his suit as dark blue and black. Their suits reflected their main jobs, so both Patton and Logan each had a patch on the left side of their chests to show they were also doctors. 

 

Virgil ran a hand through his hair and sighed. This was going to be a boring five years of his life. He stepped forward through the corridor towards the main deck. His footsteps echoed in the silence. God he hated silence. He brought up his arm to his face. He pressed a few buttons on his C.M.U.D. (Compact Multi Utility Device) also known as a C-mud. The C-mud beeped and music started playing in the ear buds he always had in. with a sigh of relief he finally made it to the deck after turning down a series of corridors. When he stepped into the room he saw the captain conversing with Patton. Pat finished talking and the captain nodded. Then turned to Virgil and his smile fell slightly. 

 

“Oh, Mechanic Sollicitus... You’re out of your chamber.” he said with the fakest smile.

 

“Is that a bad thing, captain?” Virgil replied with full on snark.

 

“No no no, I was just under the impression you would, hm, what's the word? Oh yes, hide away in your chambers.” He replied, his smile turning into a frown as they got at each other.

 

“Now kids-” Patton tried interjecting,

 

“Oh is that so captain, if I didn't know any better, I’d say that was more of a wish then assumption.” Virgil spat back,

 

“What if it was, Mechanic?” 

 

“Don’t test the man who makes sure your ship is running sir.”

 

“Was that a threat?”

 

“What if it was, Captain?”

 

“If I may interject,” Logan interrupted, walking up to the helpless Patton and the feuding men, “we are going to be floating aimlessly through space for five Terra years, constantly interacting and being in close quarters with each other, and you are threatening to destroy the ship,” he pointed to Virgil, “and you are threatening to lock up one of our most vital and only crew members, just because you don’t like him” he pointed to Roman. “Now if you two will stop acting like bickering, blubbering, infants, I would like to check over the system and get our location.”

 

All three stared at Logan in surprise. Both Virgil and Roman knew he was right, so they gave each other one last dirty look and parted ways. Patton commended Logan on his de-escalation but asked if he would be a bit kinder next time.

 

Virgil stalked down the hallway, silently fuming as he got back to his room. What a dick. The captain didn't like him from the beginning, and Virgil knew it as soon as when he tried to call the captain by his first name, and he responded with “captain will do fine”. Honestly he hated his guts. What kind of captain threatens his crew mates on the first day of the mission?! He was going to have to spend five whole years listening to the captain’s loud voice and singing as he is constantly insulted. 

 

He typed in the code to his room on the small pad on the wall, then scanned his middle finger print, he remembered the time Roman asked how he wanted to identify himself on the ship’s systems and he flipped him off. The door slid up into the ceiling with a hiss and Virgil stepped in, his little robot creation S.K.Y. (Synthetic Kind Youth) greeted him with a beep. This little android helped him with repairs and was just general company, and none of the others knew it existed. His room was dimly lit as he set it, and the walls were a pleasant black and amethyst. The door slid closed behind him and he sighed and fell onto his comfortable and impossibly clean bed. Around his room lay various projects and inventions he kept secret from the others because he knew if he ever did try to put them to use they would probably fail. He made things like patrol droids that could roam the hallways, chips that would instantly attach to leaks and multiply to stop them, food servers, and other little bots. Some of these inventions would be vital, but he didn't have a chance to test them on a massive scale. 

 

As Virgil felt himself drifting off in his disappointments he heard a loud noise. An alarm. Just then the serious voice of Roman came over the comm.

 

“Virgil, we need you on the deck. NOW.” he commanded sternly. 

 

The alarm blared as Virgil pulled himself up from the bed quickly and grabbed his tool box. The little android beeped worriedly and joined him at the door. Virgil nodded that Sky could follow, and they both hurried down the winding corridors, flashing lights blinding and alarms deafening. 

 

They both made it on to the main deck and Sky rolled around to Virgil’s side on his single wheel that stood for legs. Virgil jogged over to where the other three were standing and staring at a screen on the control console. The little robot followed behind and beeped in questioning. 

 

“What the hell is happening?” Virgil asked over the alarm.

 

“T-there is another celestial body…” Logan said in disbelief. That was a scary tone coming from the know it all. 

 

“Captain, should we investigate? We do have the supplies for a mission, that is what we are doing out here,” Pat asked hesitantly. 

 

“That’s not a Planet sir.” Virgil spoke up.

 

“What do you mean Mechanic?” the bold captain asked, voice demanding

 

“That’s a ship.”

 

“What? That’s impossible!” Logan said, turning to Virgil with a panicked expression.

 

“It is!” Virgil replied sternly, “don't you see the thrusters? The whole thing is made of panels! You can basically feel the hum of mechanics from here!” 

 

“Virgil is right…” Patton spoke up, all looked over “It’s not rotating or moving, I think it’s being forced to be still.” the seriousness was out of character for the bouncy cook. Just then, Sky beeped at Virgil to get his attention. Since Virgil made the little bot, he thought it would be useful to give them their own dialect comprised of beeps, and only he could understand, as he made up the “language”. 

 

“Sollicitus… What the hell is that?!” Roman asked, looking down at Sky. 

 

“Their name is Sky,” he replied, hostile tone in his voice,

 

Sky beeped in rude implication towards Roman, and their little arm made a thumbs down towards the arrogant captain.

 

“What were you saying Sky?” Virgil stooped down to the droid. 

 

Sky repeated what they said earlier, “no life signs detected, all deceased”

 

“Are you sure?” Virgil didn't know what was scarier, that there was life, or that whatever it was, all died. 

 

“You can understand them?” Logan asked, sounding curious.

 

“What did they say?” Patton asked, stooping down next to Virgil.

 

“They said they found no life signs, but there are dead things on the ship, they think whatever or whoever was piloting the ship has died.” Virgil informed, the words coming out of his mouth felt unreal. This was something that happened in science fiction movies, not in real life.

 

“Did the android say if it was human?” Logan asked, he was looking paler than usual.

 

Sky beeped again and Virgil felt the air leave his lungs and the color leave his face.

 

“No. they aren't human,” Sky rolled up to Virgil and pat his arm as soothingly as a robot could. 

 

“As captain I say we explore and record what we find on this ship. Logan, set up records, visual and audio transmission to base, and your material reader, along with log. We may be the first to contact another race beside human, dead or not. Patton, you will assist Logan, the mechanic and I will be the ones to venture on the ship. We go prepare and meet back in half an hour. Sollicitus, pack your tools and whatever you need, get on your travel suit, and prepare the Explorer for launch. I will address HQ and help map our course.” they were all dismissed and headed their separate ways.

 

XxXxX

 

Roman dismissed the crew to their assigned tasks and prepared to explain the circumstance to Base, surely they would be excited and stunned. First day and they had to be going in a foren space object with dead aliens. This is not what he signed up for, but imagine the glory of being the first to find aliens! This excited him, but scared the hell out of him all the same.

 

“Base is patching in Captain Roman.” Logan called. 

 

Roman stepped up to the big screen and microphone as the video feed showed head director and his assistant, Thomas and Joan. 

 

“Sir, Mx, we have exciting news. On our way to destination 23_16F, we have stumbled across a ship, not of earth origin.”

 

“That is very impressive, have you prepared to board? Are there signs of life?” director Thomas asked, 

 

“Our systems indicate dead life forms. Mechanic Sollicitus and I are boarding, while the other two stay on board and monitor us and our location,” Roman informed, glancing back at the other two, “we will be doing a direct feed of video evidence to your screens, as well as audio.”

 

“Great captain Roman. And good luck.” Thomas finished, and the feed stopped. 

 

“Captain, Virgil patched in, he says the ship is ready and waiting. The necessary equipment is set and we are go for mission by HQ.” Logan said, looking over all the screens. 

 

“Well I’ll go get my travel suit. You two got our backs, good luck on your end. We have the comm set so you can talk to us yes?” Roman asked,

 

“Yup Captain! Ready to go!” Patton chirped from beside Logan. Roman gave them one last nod before heading off into the winding corridor that lead to the docking bay where all the suits were stored. 

 

Roman grabbed a travel suit outfitted for exploration and slipped it over his casual suit. He took a big breath and boarded the ship. to be honest he was very frightened, but what kind of captain would he be if he didn't show bravery and courage in the face of the unknown? A bad captain, that's what he would be. Or at least that's what he told himself over and over. The airlock sealed behind him, and Virgil sat in the co-pilot’s chair, flipping switches and turning dials as the ship slowly powered up and the lights dimmed for no glare in the dark abyss that was space. The captain moved over to the pilot’s seat and caught Virgil jump slightly, but chose not to say anything. At another time he would have made fun of the mechanic, but since Logan set them straight and made a point about the bad treatment, Roman didn't feel right enough to do that. 

 

The two began to lower the mother ship hatch after sealing off the room from the rest of the ship, and Roman carefully drove the ship into open space. Logan established an audio connection and directed their flight according to an echo-locator map of the behemoth of a ship. The other crew mate was strikingly silent and Roman couldn’t help but feel guilty.

 

“Hey Virgil, about what I said earlier…”

 

“Oh now you use my name, captain?” he spat back,

 

“Okay I deserved that,” Roman admitted Guiltily,

 

“Yeah, ya did.” Virgil said, turning to monitor some other things. Well if he was going to be rude there’s no point in apologizing is there? God Roman couldn’t wait to get off the ships’ and back to his quarters where he didn't have to interact with the mean crew member. 

 

They located an opening in the bigger station that was large enough for their little cruiser craft to fit through. Roman swallowed a bump forming in his throat as he carefully threaded the needle into the station. He could see Virgil checking and double checking his tool kit and speaking softly to his little android companion. He landed the ship in the opening that appeared to be a flight deck. Both he and Virgil got up and adjusted their helmets and biohazard gear in case of hazardous chemicals and other substances. They strapped on trav boots to help with the lack of gravity, thrusters on the bottom helped for maneuvering and staying upright. The both shared a glance and a nod. 

 

“Logan, is the audio and video log active?” Roman asked, typing on the key pad beside the exit hatch. 

 

“Affirmative. Log active.”

 

“Okay,” Roman took a shaky breath. “Log one of mission Outside. On our way to our first destination we have happened upon a dwarf planet sized spacecraft. We have determined it is not of Earth origin. We are boarding through what appears to be a ship docking section, we have assumed it to be a space station or…” He took another shaky breath, “A mother ship.” he finished.

 

Both explorers floated out of the ship slowly into the larger hull. Virgil asked his robot to scan ahead and both stuck together and surveyed the area.

 

Inside the ship it was dark, and the walls were made/painted with a maroon substance, and the jumpy captain couldn't help but be reminded of blood. The ceiling was tall, and the walls were very bare with little bits of exposed panels. In the panels were mechanics that Roman had never even fathomed before, orbs of many different substances were mashed together, some apart, some clear and others looked to be filled with strange liquids, gelatinous tubes connected them with wires mixed in the whole complicated mess of mechanisms. The two floated further and saw abandoned space crafts in the “hanger”, they stood tall with strange sails and fins that jutted in all directions, the “windshields” where bubbled out in strange ways. Roman gave a shudder at the absolute silence. On the far end there seemed to be a door, but there was an odd pedestal. Virgil floated curiously to the exposed mechanics and snapped a few pictures with his video feed, then went back to Roman’s side.

 

The crew mates hovered over to the pedestal. 

 

“Logan, what do you make of this?” the captain asked, pointing his cam on his helmet to the weird door and pedestal. On top of the pedestal was a pattern board with strange symbols on it. 

 

“Since there are nine symbols on the pedestal, that's about one billion combinations sir, not accounting for if the code is less or more than nine long. It would take our systems approximately one earth year to figure out the code, as well as we have no idea if there is a consequence for inputting the wrong password.” Logan replied through the ear pieces. 

 

“Sky, implicate item memory software and code solve protocol please.” Virgil addressed his bot.

 

they beeped and rolled up to the pedestal. then then extended an arm from their chest and stuck it to the base of the code holder. their eyes flashed a bright blue and they let go. they beeped again, then tapped out a six digit code on the pedestal. 

 

The door disintegrated and sank into the floor before their eyes.

 

“Wow! That was pretty nifty Virgil!” Patton called over the speakers in their ears.

 

“W- how on earth did, whaaat….” Logan sounded bewildered. 

 

“Lets press on. We will be able to converse more freely when back on our craft.” Roman interrupted, despite his own curiosity, “Logan, scan ahead of us.” both drifted past the door with Sky, there was a few moments of silence before Logan’s voice spilled over the comm.

 

“Ahead there seems to be… Deceased figures. Around five,” he said with a slight break in his voice.

 

“Around?” Virgil asked, his voice wavering as well. 

 

“They don't all seem to be in one piece.” he said quieter. To punctuate his sentence’s terrifying implications further, the door materialized behind them. Roman jumped back and let out a small squeal while Virgil veered to the side while grabbing his robo-companion. He saw there was an identical pedestal on this side of the entrance as well and this eased his nerves the tiniest bit. He looked over to Virgil to make sure he was fine. 

 

“C-captain, come towards me..” Virgil said slowly. He sounded terrified. Roman saw he was looking directly behind him and began to turn to see what he was looking at,

 

“No! No don't look behind you. J-just float towards me.” he said in a deadly serious voice. Roman nodded, his stomach flipped in fear as he slowly made his way back to the mechanic. The whole time he was moving Virgil was staring straight behind him. As soon as he got back to his other crewmate he spun around. He heard a gasp from over the comms as the other two watching his video feed saw what he saw.

 

Slumped in front of them was a lanky figure. Its long arm-like appendages rested on the floor, with many smaller “tentacles” at the end. It looked like its bottom half was ripped off, and its face had many, what looked like eyes, peppered around it. Three large appendages hung from its face, two lower than the other, and Roman thought they resembled antenna. The skin like material wasn’t too rotted, given that in space you don't have air or elements to cause that reaction to flesh, but this made it even more terrifying that it looked freshly killed. 

 

Roman felt his stomach turn again and he fought bile back down his throat as he drifted closer to Virgil. 

 

“F-first contact.” he took a gulp of air.

 

“Taking snapshots now captain.” Logan spoke over the earpiece once again, his voice sounded distant, as if he was in shock. 

 

“Is Patton okay?” Virgil directed the question to Logan. 

 

“He has momentarily abandoned his post to go vomit. He will be back shortly.” Logan replied, “Ahead there are more, but the hallway after that seems to be fine. On the other side of that hall seems to be a few branching paths.”

 

“Thank you Logan.” the captain replied. 

 

Roman swallowed another urge to throw up as he tore his eyes away from the creature and began moving forward. After a few seconds he felt a hand on his arm, and jumped a bit before realizing it was Virgil. He shot a weary smile the mechanic’s way and they both continued on, finding more mangled corpses of other worldly beings. The captain pointed and took snapshots of the bodies reluctantly, and held tight onto Virgil so he wouldn’t pass out. 

 

The two made it to the end on the hall and this time when they made it there the door automatically fell to dust. They both flew in a bit faster this time, relieved to be in a room where there were no… bodies. At the end of the hall there was an intersection where you could go left or right, or through the door at the end of the hall. Virgil let go of Roman and floated away quite a bit.

 

“In mazes you always go left,” Roman spoke up shakily. “What do you think Lo?”

 

“Objectively you could go either way, but there are more deceased on the right.”

 

“Left it is then. You still running material scans?” the captain asked,

 

“Yes, most of these materials are made of theoretical elements and compounds, not anything we have back on Earth. I was going to ask if you could grab samples, but we are all substantially shaken up, and I have no idea the consequence of bringing those materials into our atmosphere.” 

 

“Keep scanning. Me and Sollicitus are heading left.”

 

“Understood captain. Fracture a femur.” Logan replied.

 

Mechanic and captain both headed around the corner to another hall way and went down that one.

 

XxXxX

 

After turning in corridor after corridor after corridor in silence for what felt like hours, they finally came to a door that didn't look like all the others. Roman actually felt a little glad something new came up. This one looked heavy duty, and didn't crumple when approached. 

 

Then suddenly, Sky beeped urgently. 

 

“What do you mean?” Virgil asked, his tone concerned. Sky beeped again, “But you said there wasn’t.” he insisted.

 

“What are they saying?” Roman asked, fear growing.

 

“They said-” but both were interrupted by a noise from behind the door. All three froze as the noise stopped. There was another keypad by the door.

 

“Should we-?” then the noise sounded again, a shift or shuffle. Something alive.

 

“Yes, can your- I mean, can Sky unlock the door like last time?” he asked, floating closer to the sealed entrance into the unknown. Virgil nodded to the android and they nodded back, then they approached the door. They pressed their arm to the wall and then typed in the code. The door disintegrated. Behind the door was a very dark room, where Roman could just make out shapes inside, he caught movement in the corner. 

 

“Turn your visor light onto a lower setting,” Roman whispered as they both stalked into the room. They both approached the figure in the corner.

 

Inch by inch.

 

It twitches occasionally.

 

Then they were right in front of it, and it looked… 

 

Human?


	2. Horrors and Helpers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chpt two is up! this has a lot of dialog so beware! having so much fun writing this.

Both ship mates stared down at the figure in disbelief, it looked like a human man, and he was just curled up against the wall. The man twitched once again, and Virgil felt the need to say something.

 

“Hello?” he whispered. 

 

The man’s head shot in their direction and he scrambled further against the wall. 

 

“PLEASE HURT ME!” he shouted, sounding terrified.

 

“You want us to… hurt you?” Virgil asked, it just now concerned him that his face was obstructed by the shadows.

 

“Yes!” he exclaimed, shaking his head no.

 

“Can you p-please not give me anything to write with?!” the strange man asked frantically. Virgil then got what he was saying. He reached in his tool case and held out a paint pen to the man.

 

“Why are you giving it to him? He didn't want that?” Roman asked.

 

The man grabbed the pen desperately. 

 

On the floor he scrawled the words,

 

“I can only speak in lies” 

 

When he looked back up he covered his face with both his arms.

 

“Why are you covering your face?” Roman asked. 

 

“I’m beautiful. They didn't experiment on me, and my face is normal.” the man said, muffled through his long sleeves. 

 

“The aliens performed experiments on him? I deduce that’s why he can only speak in lies.” Logan piped up from the comms. 

 

“Should we bring him back?” Virgil asked the captain.

 

“I think we should, but he doesn’t have a travel suit…” Roman replied, “Logan? Patton? Any ideas?” 

 

“You have other companions?” the man on the floor asked, face still hidden. 

 

“Yeah, we’re trying to figure out a way to get you back to our ship, we have extra room and rations, and we can get you out of this hell hole.” Virgil promised him. “Can we see your face first though? I don't know how I feel about not knowing how you look like.” he asked. It made him really uneasy not knowing his face.

 

“No,” the man confirmed, and he lowered his arms.

 

The man’s face was split pretty much in half, one side was normal human features, and the other was covered in scales, eye yellow with a slit for a pupil and purple shading around it. His nostril was pointed instead of round. 

 

“They didn't try to splice me with a snake, and it was totally successful, they didn't expect me to grow a snake tail either.” He spoke, mentally, Virgil flipped the words around.

 

“A snake tail? How would that even happen?” he asked, keeping the jittery man occupied while the captain figured out a plan. 

 

“I have an idea.” the man said.

 

“No idea, huh? How did you get here? We aren't even in Earth’s solar system.”

 

“They didn't abduct me. I lived in the city, and one day I was just found.”

 

“They abducted him at night in the country?” Patton asked, “aww he must be so scared!!” 

 

“Okay, we are going to have Logan fly over with Patton’s suit. Then I’ll go back with our new guest and Logan will take Virgil back.” the captain ordered. He was using Virgil’s name now and the mechanic didn't know how he felt about that. 

 

“Are you okay with this?” Virgil turned to the snake-man. he really hated the idea of bringing this guy against his will.

 

“No, I’m totally not just grateful that you are taking me out of this wonderful place.” he said frantically. 

 

“Okay Logan, are you almost ready for launch?” Roman asked, voice a bit airy.

 

“Affirmative captain, we will be at your location momentarily, may I suggest that one of you stay with our new guest while the other retrieves the suit and brings it back? We don't know how the air works in this facility and we know he can survive in this room.” Virgil had a spike of dread flow through him that made him numb. Someone was going to have to walk back, alone, past all the bodies, and in the dark. Then Logan said the cursed words, 

 

“I suggest Virgil.” he added.

 

“Why me?!” Virgil asked, his voice breaking,

 

“You are the one with the android.” Logan purposed. 

 

“Yeah fine, I'll do it. But I only want to talk to Pat when I’m going back, and not you two assholes.” Virgil huffed. He also knew that Patton would be the only one equipped to help him if he had a panic attack. Patton was the only one who knew about Virgil's heightened anxiety.

 

“Language kiddo! And yes I’ll walk you through it.” Patton replied. “Do you want to have a private channel while we do this?” 

 

“Y-yes.” He replied, motioning Sky over from their inspection of the new man.

 

The little robot rolled over and beeped curiously. 

 

“We gotta go get a suit, we have to…” the mechanic gulped, “go back to the ship.”

 

The little android beeped at him angrily, “but your condition!” they said,

 

“Yes, I know, but pat will be there.” Virgil tried to convince them.

 

“Who is making you do this?!” they beeped, turning on Roman, “It was him wasn’t it?” they fiercely accused.

 

“What are they saying?” the captain asked, backing up a bit. 

 

“He’s not forcing me sky, we have to save the survivor.” Virgil tried to de-escalate the situation. 

 

“Doesn't he know about your problems when it comes to that?” Sky asked incredulously,

 

“No, he doesn’t. Come on we’re wasting time.” Virgil replied, turning and walking to the door. Sky rolled up and “unlocked” the door and it turned to dust.

 

Stepping out, Virgil jumped as the door reformed behind him. 

“‘Kay kiddo, we are on a private channel and I am now in a private space so we can talk freely.” the man a few years his senior spoke, and Virgil felt a bit more at ease.

 

“Okay Pat, just… Keep talking, yeah? I don't like silence.” the mechanic asked, shivering at the darkness and stillness. 

 

“You’ll be fine Virgil, we’ve gone through breathing yeah? Just breathe. Nothing on this ship can hurt you, it’s just a few hallways and back.” he assured, “Logan will be there by the time you get there and all you have to do is grab the suit and get back.” 

 

Virgil started down the hall, his pace quick as he navigated his way back the way he came. Identical hallway after identical hallway. 

 

“Hey Pat?” Virgil asked, his voice shaking.

 

“Breathe Virgil, what do you need?” the psychiatrist asked in a calming voice,

 

“Can you uh, talk about something? Something to get my mind off of this.” Virgil asked nervously. 

 

“Sure kiddo, would you like to hear about the first time I cooked?” Patton asked in the same mellow tone. This made Virgil even more at ease.

 

“Yeah, go ahead.”

 

“The first time I started cooking was when my grandma came to visit for the first time when I was seven, she lived in another country and traveled a lot, so I never got the chance to see her. I was secretly scared she wouldn't like me, or we wouldn't get along, but she walked in the door, looked straight at me… and smiled the biggest smile ever. She scooped me up into a hug and then asked if I wanted to help make dinner. Of course I was confused, because I grew up in poverty with my two moms, so we didn't have a lot of food to cook with.”

 

Virgil was getting invested in the story while he paid close attention to where he was going.

 

“She pulled a big bag out from behind her, filled with all kinds of exotic ingredients and brought me to our little kitchen. Then she set down the bag and had me clean off all the counter while she went through and organized the food. She had a bit of everything, fish from Japan, cheeses from Germany, pastas from Italy, spices from all over. I was amazed with all the smells and colors. We set out everything we would use, and she taught me how to use a knife, how to heat the stove, how to tell apart the different spices by smell, and based on smell how it would taste. It was a magical experience to a kid who never considered having anything grander than a baked potato for a meal.” Patton sighed happily at the nostalgia.

Virgil finally made it to the room with all the… corpses. 

 

“Okay Virge, I want you to tell me exactly what scares you. It’ll help, I swear.” he said, his voice still calm.

 

“Uh, the bodies, t-they’re all mangled, and we don't know how.” Virgil admitted as the door disintegrated, he saw a quick movement. 

 

“Pat what the fuck was that?” Virgil whispered, panic was setting in. “did you see that? What was that?!” he felt his breathing and heart quickening. 

 

“Virgil, calm down, send Sky to the end of the room to open the door, then you can just blast past this room. You don't have to look, Logan is already there.” Patton rationalized, 

 

“Sky, u-unlock the door so I can rush through yeah?” he asked shakily, his whole body felt numb with fear. The little robot nodded and zoomed over to the pedestal. They typed in the code quickly and he door dissolved, Virgil set his boots on to a faster travel speed, and rocketed straight through the room. Sky followed. 

 

“You did it Virge! Logan is parked right next to your guys’ explorer, just grab the suit and make it back. Then you can get off the ship and back over here. I’ll cook you a great meal when you get back!” Patton added cheerfully. 

 

“Okay,” Virgil took a big breath and sped over to Logan’s ship. 

 

Virgil reached the ship and found the doctor standing beside it, folded suit in hand.

 

He snatched the suit from the man who suggested he was the one to go, and wordlessly turned around and jetted back to the still open door. He grabbed Sky and sped through the door just before it appears again. Then when he got in the room he made the mistake of looking around. 

 

All around him were bodies. The same mangled bodies. Fresh looking, alien, mangled bodies. Virgil felt a panic attack setting in. He did the breathing exercise of 4 7 8. He calmed down a bit, and he looked around once more to see… more movement. A creature of some kind, tall, black, and lankyer than the other aliens. It was hunched over one of the bodies, and the sound of ripping and chewing could be heard as it plunged it’s long fingers into the dead alien’s chest and scooped out discolored entrails. Virgil froze in pure terror. The creature kept eating messily as Virgil took a single shaky breath. He didn’t want to call for Patton, but he knew the crew mate could see it too. 

 

“Okay Virge, I’m going to need you to slowly maneuver past it. Be as silent as you can. I will talk you through the whole thing. Keep your eyes on it.” Virgil gulped and nodded as Patton’s calm and low voice reverberated through his ears. He slowly started forward, still holding Sky, who seemed to understand the situation.

 

“That's right, you're doing great, keep going.” Virgil still slowly circled around, deadly silent as the beast continued to feed. Then the thing raised its head in alarm.

 

Virgil froze as he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

 

The beast turned and looked straight at him. 

 

Its face was covered in narrow eyes, its mouth was a large gaping hole, filled with many rows of teeth, located on its chest. The long, thin, claw like fingers still dripping with liquids and guts. 

 

The creature took a step closer to Virgil and blinked, then took another step. It moved closer and closer, slow and cautious. 

 

“Virgil, Run.” Patton commanded. Virgil didn't move. He couldn’t

 

“Virgil, Get out of there!” Patton added frantically. 

 

The monster raised a hand up and held it in front of Virgil. It made a gurgled but deliberate noise, and inclined its head towards him. He couldn't tell if this was a threatening gesture. Virgil mirrored it’s action.

 

“G-greetings…” he spoke quietly. He nodded towards the creature. It nodded back, then suddenly grabbed Virgil’s arm. It wasn’t aggressive he hoped. The creature then started to walk, still holding his arm.

 

“Where are y-you taking me?” Virgil asked, still terrified. The dark beast kept walking forward, but he looked back at Virgil and gurgled again. He guessed it was a language. 

 

“Patton, is my v-video feed still running?” he asked the now quiet navigator, “I think it wants to show me something.”

 

“Yeah it’s going Virge, just, stay calm yeah? I’ve notified Roman of your predicament and asked him not to interfere yet.” 

 

“Thanks Pat, Sky, could you please initiate Language Decode Program: Unidentified.” the little robot beeped in his arms and went stiff as they went into their memory drive to process the mannerisms and tones of the speech. 

 

“My systems indicate that the Unknown entity speaks a language similar to human english patterns, in response to your question, it replied ‘safe’. It can understand you.” Sky beeped.

 

“What are you called?” Virgil asked the monster still tugging him along.

 

It gurgled again.

 

“It replied ‘ Et’ohx ’.” Sky replied, letter by letter.

 

“Where is safe?” He asked, the route they were taking was familiar, “back to the room with the snake man? The one with all the boxes?” 

 

“Y e s….” the creature replied. It still had a grip on Virgil's arm and tugged him on.

 

“Why are you taking me back?”

 

“Y o u r br a i n… a b n o rm a l,” it rasped.

 

“Like the snake man’s?”

 

“N o t t h e s a m e...s e r o t on i n, n o r e p i n e p h r i n e, p r o b l e m a t i c.” 

 

“It’s saying it can sense your anxiety disorder, Virgil it’s bringing you back to the room Roman is in because it is probably a holding place for disabled beings.” Patton interjected.

 

“What happens when we get there?” Virgil didn't like the thought of being locked in like the experiment, 

 

“W a i t ti l l… u n p r o b l e m a t i c c a r e t a k e r r e t r i v e s y o u” 

 

“My…. unproblematic caretaker is already there, will you let me and my friend, the snake man, leave with him?” he asked nervously. 

 

“A f t e r h e i s…. A s s e ss ed” Et’ohx replied, moving a bit faster.

 

“Why were you eating those other ones?” Virgil asked, “no judgment, just a question.”

 

“T r e s p a s s e r s…. T r i e d t o i n v a d e l e i s u r e s h i p.”

 

“So this is a vacation ship? Why is it so quiet?” 

 

“L o c k d o wn…. Q u e s t i o n i n g a f o rm o f c o p i n g… y e s ?” they asked, turning down a hall, only two more halls till the room. 

 

“Y-yeah, helps my problematic brain...” he chuckled nervously. “Pat, tell Roman we are approaching, and remind him how he is our unproblematic caretaker.” Virgil whispered. A loud noise sounded over the comm and the mechanic jumped. 

 

“C h e m i c a l i m b a l an c e d e t e c t ed…. C a l m y o u r m i nd” the being grumbled, making it to the door. it typed in the code and the door disintegrated. 

 

“Ah, Virgil! My other chemically imbalanced companion!” Roman called, thank god he was a good actor. 

 

“L o c k do w n e n d e d, t h i s y o u r c a r e t a k e r?” Et’ohx asked, turning around to face Virgil. He nodded quickly and handed the snake the space suit. 

 

“W i l l….. E s c o r t t o s h i p, y o u h a v e t w o….. d o c k e d.” the creature turned to the snake man that now had his suit on, “s a f e t r a v e l…. S u r v i v o r….” the snake man nodded shakily. He activated the helmet on the suit and fiddled with the boot control. Then he stood, hunched slightly, and signaled they were ready to move out.

 

Et’ohx turned and began to guide them back to the ships. 

 

XxXxX

 

When they got through the corpse room, the jumpy snake-man hybrid clung to Roman like a vice. In their time alone Roman learned that he didn't remember his name, so Roman decided to call him Jack, and he seemed okay with that. The captain briefed the snake man, now known as Jack, on their teammates and ship, and how they would have to interrogate him and have their doctor take a look at his systems. Jack explained that this was a vacation ship, and that he was rescued from the now dead aliens that tried to take over the ship.

 

As they went through, Roman saw Virgil visually paling and his eyes flickered place to place. His expression was very concerned looking and his breathing seems irregular. Roman approached slowly as not to frighten Virgil, and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He jumped, then aggressively grabbed his arm and held tight. Jack walked ahead slightly as they made it to the door. 

 

The creature made it through, and beckoned to the others to head out, and Virgil still held tight to Roman’s arm. It concerned him a bit, but he saw the other was breathing better, so Roman set a hand on the mechanic’s hands that were gripping his arm. 

 

“We’re almost off the ship Virge, do you mind the name Virge?” Roman asked in the most soothing and quiet voice he could make. Virgil just shook his head to say he didn't mind. 

 

“G o o d b y e h o m o s a p i e n s.” the tall and terrifying creature rasped. Roman hovered towards the ship and caught up to Jack. 

 

“Hey Jack, do you mind riding back with Logan?” Roman asked, nodding towards the still shaken up crewmember, whose grip had tightened as soon as they got closer to the ship. Jack nodded and headed over to Logan, who seemed to be dumbfounded by the lanky creature that was now stalking back to the entrance. 

 

Roman walked over to the explorer they originally brought over, typed in the code, and headed inside. Virgil’s grip loosened and they walked over to the two chairs, Roman helped the mechanic lower himself down, and Sky sat by Virgil’s feet.

 

They were almost back, and this terrifying and stressful day was almost over. 

 

Virgil sat in his chair, completely silent while Roman booted up the systems and pulled out of the ship. Logan’s ship followed. 

 

Then Roman heard the faintest sound from Virgil. 

 

“Roman…” he meekly whispered.

 

“Yes?” the captain replied quietly. 

 

“Can you do something, like, talk or sing? I-I saw some pretty messed up shit back there, heh heh” he chuckled with no humor behind it. He sounded so broken. 

 

“Hm, singing is something I can do.” Roman thought to himself. 

 

Roman started softly singing a song called “The moss”. It was a mellow song with an enchanting tune and lyrics. 

 

Within seconds Roman saw Virgil visibly relax, and this made the flamboyant man more happy than he thought it should have.

 

With Virgil visibly calming, and Roman doing what he loved the most, they both made their way back to their home of one day, soon to be five years. They didn't know what the future held when they actually did make it to their destination, but they hoped it won't be as horrific.


	3. winding down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a bit of fluff and casual stuff, gotta have a downwards before you hit another problem don't you? ;)

The two ships docked in the port and Patton felt a huge jolt of relief as his beloved crew mates returned. He rushed from the comms center down to the bay door where they were un-boarding and getting into disinfecting chambers as air filled the room after the hatch closed. He felt a stab of protectiveness as he saw Virgil with a vacant expression. That was never good for the youngest crewmate, it meant he was over thinking and reliving memories. He desperately wanted to comfort the mechanic with a good meal and multiple large blankets, but he knew he couldn't get close without them going through the biocleanser. He saw the wiry look on Logan’s face too, and the ever boisterous captain’s smile was forced. The snake man was jittery and twitchy, and Patton analyzed this wasn’t due to a mental thing, but it was more involuntary. Of course he couldn't properly tell until he talked to the man face to face. Patton had always been very good at reading people, even when he was young. It seemed like becoming a mental health practitioner was a natural path for him, and was supported by his Grandma and two moms up until...

 

Virgil stepped up to the door and shook Patton from his thoughts. He smiled at the younger man and typed in the door code once he saw the others heading to the door. He input in his thumb print and stepped aside for the others to spill into the wide corridor. 

 

“Welcome back! You were all so brave!” Patton looked into each one of their eyes, Virgil's a dark and deep brown, Roman’s a kind and twinkling green, and Logan’s a steel greyish blue. Patton paused for a moment at Logan’s eyes, then quickly moved on to address the new guest. 

 

“Pleasure to meet you! I’m Patton!” he offered a hand to the man.

 

“Uh, my name is not Jack.” he took Patton’s hand, the other man’s was shaking badly. 

 

“Well Jack, do you have any allergies to food I should know about? As the ship’s cook I would hate to hurt a diner!” Patton asked, as soon as he could break away he would prepare the best meal for his new friends! 

 

During trainings and such, Patton was not included in a lot of team exercises and therefore didn't get to make friends with the others, he was trained in… other matters. Such as defusing his team mates if needed, by any means necessary. He hated the thought of having to use any force on people due to his gentle nature, but he didn't want them hurting each other. So he trained separately, and really only got close to Virgil because he noticed how uncomfortable and lonely he looked during eating breaks. They became fast friends, and Patton found himself very overprotective of the strong yet vulnerable mechanic. Being a good judge of people, Patton quickly was able to comfort Virgil and he started doing better in training. This just proved more to the examiners that Patton was vital. Other wise, Patton did not know any of them on a very personal level, and planned to change that.

“I have no food allergies.” Jack responded, holding one finger. “I am not lactose intolerant.” he admitted sheepishly. Patton nodded, making a mental note.

 

Patton turned to Virgil. 

 

“Virge! Would you like to help make dinner?” Patton asked, sending him a meaningful look.

 

“Yeah sure Pat.” he said, nodding in acknowledgement of the look.

 

Patton smiled and waved to the others while he motioned for Virgil to follow him to the kitchen. They made it through the hallways silently and he couldn't help but think of a list of things he needed to get done before he could rest. He needed to cook diner, talk to each of his teammates to assess their mental state, he needed to start his log for each of them, write notes, contact HQ, create a whole diagnosis for Jack, make sure to consult with Logan about the patient and medical health. Then he could rest, but not a minute before. 

 

They made it to the kitchen and Patton immediately turned to Virgil. 

 

He hugged him tight. 

 

“Uh Pat, you okay?” Virgil asked, not flinching away from the physical approach to therapy. 

 

“You almost had two panic attacks.” Patton hugged Virgil a bit tighter, “do you want to talk about it? Or get busy on food?” Patton posed an option so Virgil wouldn't feel cornered. 

 

“I- Yeah…” the younger man caved, wrapping his arms around the shorter Patton. “It was so graphic Pat, I felt like I could feel my guts being ripped out… I- it was- I just…” Virgil trailed off, obviously choking back tears.

 

“It’s okay Virge, just breathe with me, here, feel my chest… that’s it, in and out.” Patton drew soothing patterns with his fingers on his back. Virgil let a weak sob escape and shudder his whole body as he gave into the warmth of Patton.

 

“I was so terrified. So scared I was calm… I just let that monster creature guide me… he was EATING the BODIES Patton. I lead him straight back to Roman and Jack. wh-what if….what if I got them hurt?!” he admitted as he slouched and buried his face into Patton’s shoulder. 

 

“You didn’t, and it’s in the past. We are not going back on that ship ever. You are safe here with us Virgil, take another breath for me yeah?” Patton asked, slowly pulling away.

 

Virgil took a shaky breath and looked at Patton’s calm face, his emotions visibly calming. He let go of Patton and attempted a weary smile. Patton returned with his brightest smile. 

 

“Let’s get cooking shall we?”

 

XxXxX

 

Patton grabbed out all the ingredients for fried rice and egg rolls, as well as pot stickers. He knew this was a good meal to feed to a lot of people, and had easy tasks he could assign Virgil. He quickly began setting up stations to cook and preheating ovens while Virgil stood to the side. Patton noticed his friend’s awkwardness and addressed him.

 

“Would you like to start rinsing veggies?” he asked, putting on a bright smile to assure the nervous mechanic.

 

“Y-yeah, I’ll do that,” Virgil looked to the vegetables that Patton had already set by the sink, and shuffled over to start his first task. 

 

Patton got out all the spices he had packed on the mission, mostly essentials like thyme, cumin, salt & pepper, etc, but had some others that he favored. He smiled at his small collection and how he would finally be able to cook again. During training they lived in the facility and had premade meals. He never had time to cook over all his training and paperwork, most days he just fell to his bed exhausted. But it didn't matter, being on this mission was making a difference, his moms and grandma would be so proud…

 

“Hey pat I got the vegetables done…” Patton turned around suddenly, being broken from his thoughts.

 

“Are you okay?” Virgil asked, setting a hesitant hand on Patton’s shoulder and looking in his eyes. A smile spread onto Patton’s face at the attempt to comfort him.

 

“Yeah kiddo, just thinking is all! Now I need to chop up some veggies, would you mind doing it with me so we get it done fast? I’m sure everyone is plenty hungry!” he brushed it off and went to grab the now washed vegetables.

 

He set them on a counter and grabbed a pair of cutting boards and two knives meant for vegetables. He set them down and put a few stalks of green onions on Virgil's board and carrots on his. Virgil stepped up to the counter and began cutting the onions while Patton started to dice the carrots for the rice. He would put peas, carrots, and green onions, and scrambled eggs in the rice. He would need to start pork cooking too for the pot stickers, but that was the only meat component. He would need extra egg of the egg rolls too, but that came after rice. They finished the carrot and onions, and Patton grabbed the white peppers and handed the mechanic some cabbage. He took it and cut it into small pieces to fit into the egg rolls and pot stickers. Basically, pot stickers and egg rolls had the same ingredients, but the way you seasoned and cooked them made them very different dishes. 

 

They finished with the rest of the veggies and Patton had Virgil carry them to three different stations, each one for a different prep for the component of the meal. Pat walked over to the stove and wok and put veggies on one side and cracked two eggs in the other, then dumped the rice on top. He turned up the heat and the eggs began sizzling as the vegetables began growing soft. Patton took a spatula and stirred the whole thing together, throwing the pan up occasionally. 

 

The rice was done so he put some on each of the four plates. He then set the wok he just used in the sink while he prepared the pork. He told Virgil to set out the potsticker and egg roll dough that he brought, they were already made and ready for the filling. 

 

“Pat, you know you could always talk to me right?” Virgil mumbled, looking at the ground. 

 

“Of course buddy! I don't know what you are talking about though.” Patton replied, putting filling in the wraps.

 

“It’s just, you had the same blank look just now… it’s like your thinking about something sad.” Virgil confessed, looking up at this friend.

 

Patton secretly thanked the heavens he wasn't facing his friend as his smile faltered for a second. 

 

“Just a little tired is all kiddo, today has been stressful for even your old pal Pat,” he replied, hopefully being convincing. Virgil seemed to back off a bit. 

 

“Paaaatttttooon~! It smells amazing in here!” Roman cheered, stepping into the kitchen.

 

“Get out Prince Loudmouth.” Virgil snapped in his direction. 

 

“Okay dark and stormy knight, geez we were getting along so great earlier!” he exclaimed. 

 

“We were on a mission. Now I am trying to hang out with my only friend on this stupid ship, plus it’s bad etiquette to be in the kitchen if you weren't asked to help.” Virgil retaliated, pushing the captain out.

 

“That wasn't very nice kiddo,” Patton gave Virgil a stern look. 

 

“He was annoying!” Virgil replied defensively. “Come on Pat you have to realize that too, right?” Virgil asked, going over to help Patton with egg rolls. 

“He is a little… extravagant, but he is still a crewmember! You don't need to be grumpy because you haven’t eaten!” Patton liked to pretend most people were just grumpy because of food and not their own struggles.

 

“Yeah yeah, sure Pat.” Virgil chuckled, then the oven with the pork in it beeped. 

 

Patton and Virgil finished up dinner by seasoning, filling, wrapping, and frying the final two components and dishing them along with garnishing. They set them on the table and called the others in. 

 

Roman walked in with Jack and they sat down excitedly, while Logan came in a bit after and sat down as well, looking at a document on his C-mud. While he wasn't paying attention, Patton took a moment to study his features. His steel grey eyes read the document almost mechanically, as if picking it apart by the pixel and rearranging it in his mind. His expression was schooled neutral with his glasses resting on his nose. He was handsome. 

 

Patton reeled back at the thought and shook his head as Roman addressed him.

 

“Okay the gangs all here! Let's dig in shall we?” he asked excitedly, then took a bite of the flaky wrap and filling of the egg roll and his expression immediately lit up more, if that was possible. 

 

“Say! that is absolutely scrumptious Patton!” he exclaimed excitedly, Patton felt a warm smile fill his face.

 

Patton looked over to Jack who had already finished all his rice and started on his second egg roll. Then he looked over at Logan, who hadn't even touched his food yet. Patton deflated slightly at the sight of the doctor who seemed to fail to see the food altogether.

 

XxXxX

 

Logan walked into the dining area and sat down, completely unaware of his surroundings as he continued to read over the document he had made for his personal journal. In the background he heard the others speaking loudly about something, and a faint smell of something he didn't care to identify. This document was precise, but Logan had already found one typo and couldn't stand not rechecking the whole thing at LEAST five more times. It had to be perfect. Suddenly, he was kicked in the shin under the table. 

 

Startled in coming back to reality, he looked around blankly as everything came into focus. All the others were looking at him with expectant expressions. 

 

“Wouldn't you like to eat Logan?” Virgil hissed through his teeth. He looked down at his plate full of food like he hadn't seen it was there. He didn't see it was there. 

“I apologize, I was lost in my revision of certain documents.” He looked down at the plate and decided to try a pot sticker.

 

From what he knew, these contained pork and various plant matter as fillings. He took a tentative bite. The fried dumpling burst with flavor. Logan felt his eyes widen as he chewed the Chinese food item. All the flavors mixed and combined like art in his mouth and he quickly finished the bite and took the rest into his mouth happily. 

 

“This is delightful Patton, well done.” he composed himself, desiring to eat the rest. The smile Patton showed lit up his whole face and the whole room. Logan was momentarily stunned as the cook began talking excitedly to Roman about something. No one had ever smiled to him that genuinely and honestly that confused him. 

 

Logically, Patton’s reaction was justified, he had been complimented so he had smiled. But… Logan never complimented people, he only stated facts. Which it was a fact that the dish was delectable, so why was he so struck by Patton? Perhaps he needed some sleep. 

 

Tonight however, there was a great chance that Logan would not get sufficient sleep because of the workload their new guest had unknowingly dumped on him and the others. He was slightly annoyed his schedule would be ruined, especially because he had a meticulous evening routine. Everything was planned, until this Jack had to disrupt him. 

 

Logan finished his plate and politely excused himself to wash it off. He saw a bit of sadness cross Patton’s face, but that would be illogical. Patton had no reason to feel dejected at Logan’s exit, especially because they barely knew each other. He brushed it off and continued on his path, and made it to the dishwasher, where he set the dish after rinsing it. Then he opened his document once again, taking one last glance back at the table where he caught Patton looking back at him. Logan could have sworn he saw the psychologist redden before he turned away, but once again that was an even more illogical thought! Logan really needed rest if he kept seeing these things. He vacated the room and headed back to his quarters.

 

As he entered the meticulous space he allowed himself to sigh in relief. Being around other people meant emotions where thrown his way and then expected from him. Which proved very strenuous to Logan’s usually sharp mind. He sat down at his sleek desk and pulled out his data storage device. He put in the code for making diagnosis documents and the window opened into an interactive holographic display. Tapping around for a moment he made a new document and filled in Jack’s information. Which to his chagrin was not much information. The document looked absolutely and utterly unfinished. Logan hated unfinished documents. 

 

He took another sigh, this one of frustration and annoyance. He always did have a temper and it was the bane of his normally emotionless façade. He did in fact not know how emotions work, theoretically because of his father’s disregard for them. 

 

Logan had always lived with his father as far as his memory banks allowed him access. He had been told very young that his mother died in childbirth, and Logan had always assumed this was why his father pushed him to be better at all turns, despite what Logan’s interests where. His father was a medical doctor, but Logan had always been invested in a more scientific mindset instead of a medical one. This didn't sit right with his father so he was forced to learn the medical field like the back of his hand from an estimate of around nine years of age. Logan became a doctor after graduating from college a year early, but all the while he studied the natural world and its sciences. He was taught to always think with his mind and never with his heart, and that everything that was done onto him was the result of something he had done to others, therefore he deserves anything that happened to him, regardless if it were good or bad. This made Logan into the person he was today, and honestly he didn't feel anything on the matter. He thought he was a fine individual despite his, how did others put it? “Frigid” personality. It caused many to steer clear of him, but again, Logan didn't care. Less people, less emotions. 

 

Speaking of people, a chime overhead sounded, signaling someone was requesting access. He typed in the code into his C-mud to let the door slide open as he turned back to his documents. 

 

“Howdy Logan!” came the cheery voice of Patton.

 

“Salutations Patton, what did you require from me?” Logan asked, turning around and cutting to the point. 

 

“Well, uh, I have Jack in the medical bay if you wanted to witness the mental examination then perform the medical side o’ things,” Patton invited, bouncing up on the balls of his feet. 

 

“Certainly, can you wait for a bit while I collect my things?” Logan asked, standing to his full six foot height, about 2\3’s of a foot taller than the other crewmember.

 

“Yup, I’ll wait, I told Jack it would take a bit.” Patton said, looking up at Logan. Momentarily he lost his train of thought looking down at the soft man in front of him. The man’s hazel eyes where so soft and full of depth he got stuck, just staring, until Patton smiled up at him. Oh god, that smile. 

 

Logan turned away quickly began collecting his things. His thoughts were racing. What was that?! Why was his face hot? Why did his stomach feel weird? Why couldn't he erase those eyes from his mind? Was he getting sick? Why did the man’s lips bother him so much? A million thoughts raced through his mind until Patton spoke up.

 

“Hey Logan are you okay?” he asked, he sounded worried, Logan had never had that tone directed towards him. 

“Affirmative, just in need of rest.”

 

XxXxX

 

Logan spoke in his usual speech pattern so that was a good sign, but he was obviously in distress about something. From a far glance Patton could tell that Logan did not understand emotions, and had a certain disregard for them. This was most likely due to trauma in childhood. 

 

“Are you sure? You look distressed. Would you like to sit down and talk about it?” Patton asked in a gentle voice. Logan looked like he got even more agitated at the thought. 

 

“I realize this is your profession, but I truly think I am just tired. My possessions are all put together, let us get this over with.” Logan spoke fast but deliberately, cutting out room for conflict. Patton nodded and noted the defensiveness over the discussion and or topic of emotions in general. 

 

They began down the hall in silence, the tall man’s footsteps freakishly quiet from someone so big. Patton was behind him to his right. He studied the strong jaw that showed over his shoulder and inwardly squealed at the long strides he took with his long legs. Long arms held a briefcase and a data storage unit. From the look of Logan’s room Patton got, he was a very organized person, possibly a case of mild to moderate OCD. he didn't doubt that the files on the data bank where all in specific folders inside general folders inside topical folders, and every document was in its place. Patton fought back a content sigh. 

 

They both reached the end of the hall and Logan typed in his code with precision and stepped in the door. Patton followed and shook those thoughts from his head after entering the professional setting. He walked over to Jack with a wave as Logan stepped away to prepare whatever he needed. Patton opened his notes page on his C-mud and typed in a few things under Logan before moving down to Jack’s new tab. It had his notes before on the twitches and a note of only speaking in lies. He made sure to press the record button and set his device on sleep, so it would record but look like it was off. He liked to not take notes when his patients would talk to him, it made them feel at ease. He would later listen to the tapes and make notes in voice tones, and mentally gaged expressions and movements such as nervous ticks and micro expressions. 

 

“Hello Jack! We should get this done pretty quick, then you can get settled in your room.” Patton assured the snake man. He nodded in return. 

 

“So let's start with your story! Is that okay with you?” Patton asked in a cheerful tone, like he was having a normal conversation. 

 

“Not okay with me!” he replied cheerfully. 

 

“Okay, so the easiest way we can do this with your condition is through asking mostly yes or no questions, so it’s easy to flip your answers around.” Pat explained, getting his questions mentally prepared. 

 

“So, you got abducted at night in the country, do you remember where?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Okay, do you remember how you got abducted?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you remember being on the ship?”

 

“No.”

 

“What was it like?”

 

“Light all the time.”

 

“Dark all the time?”

 

“No.” 

 

“Okay, did they have you locked up?”

 

“N-No.”

 

“Do you remember the experiments, or did you just know?”

 

“No, I didn't remember them, they didn't talk about them either.”

 

“They spoke English?” 

 

“Yes, they didn't give me a transcoder or anything, think they thought i knew how to use it, I didn't figure it out right away, and I didn't use it in secret.” 

 

“I see. And you don't remember your name?” 

 

“No.” 

 

Patton filled the rest in, Jack seemed to be more twitchy when it came to his memory loss, and the thought of confined spaces. Patton gained a lot of information on him and was happy with how much he gathered. He smiled.

 

“Thank you Jack, that's all I need to know for now, and if you have anything to get off your chest you can find me in my part of the medical bay, the kitchen, or my room. I’ll stay to observe Logan’s side of things, but otherwise I won't interfere.” he concluded, stepping back and stealthily hitting the stop record button. He felt a pang in his chest as he saw Logan bent over a desk and writing something down in his almost typed looking clear font. 

 

His breath caught in his throat has Logan looked over lazily from his position.

 

“Has your work been concluded?” he asked, Patton could feel his face heating. 

 

“Yup! All done here, if you don't mind, I would like to stick around, see how the physical side of things goes.” he asked quickly, hoping not to get rejected. 

 

“That will be fine, the medical prospect of this venture should take more time however, do you not require some semblance of rest?” Logan asked in his sharp voice with his sharp way of speaking, it just made Patton more flustered.

 

“No I’m great! You four are the ones who had to do all that work!” Shoot! he let it slip. 

 

“If you do not need it then I’d be glad to have assistance.” Logan had the tiniest smile, and honestly Patton’s little heart couldn't take it. 

 

“Excuse me for a second though, I need the men’s room before we go on,” and just like that Patton clumsily dashed out of the room. 

 

XxXxX

 

Logan let himself lightly smile at his coworker’s antics before he got back to prepping his lab. There was not much room for emotions in a professional setting, so Logan tended to steer clear. He straightened his back and took one last glance around the bay before stepping over to the subject. 

 

“Greetings Jack, I would like to perform a few simple tests, such as a reflex test and a brain scan. Neither will hurt, or be harmful I can assure you. These will take a bit longer, as I would like samples as well. All by your consent.” Logan always made sure that his patients knew that what they were doing was consensual. 

 

“No, that doesn’t sound good. Let's not start ever.” Jack gave an attempt at a smile. 

 

“We will wait a moment till my colleague returns. We will most likely start with drawing blood samples and getting your fingerprints. A brain scan and an xray will follow, because they take a bit longer. The machines have been prepped.” Logan informed, making sure he knew what was going to be happening to him.

 

Just as he finished, Patton walked in again. He looked refreshed, and Logan sent the tiniest smile his way before turning to grab a vial and a syringe for drawing blood. 

 

“Patton?” Logan addressed the smaller man from over his shoulder,

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Are you bothered by blood in anyway?” Logan asked, He really didn't want to make Patton uncomfortable. 

 

“No, I’ve seen plenty blood in my cooking career.” he replied. 

 

“Okay Jack, I am going to draw blood, please give me your arm and this will only take approximately one to two minutes,” Logan took a disinfectant wipe and wiped around the area, then wrapped a band around the forearm, above where he would draw the blood.

 

Logan took off the safety cap and asked Jack to make a fist while he tested the plunger. He then carefully found the vein and inserted the needle, slowly pulling the plunger back. Jack was twitching, like he seemed to always do. He got the amount of blood he needed, then took off the band and removed the needle, putting the safety cap back on. He grabbed the vile and the transfer device and set the needle into the biohazard container as he filled the vile. 

 

As soon as he was done he set the rest in the biohazard box, aside from the vile which he set in a plastic bag after slowly tilting and labeling. He was a professional after all. He looked back at a bewildered Patton. He felt a small smile of pride bubble up, even if it was one of the most simple procedures.

 

“Okay Jack, thank you very much for cooperating. Now we will get your fingerprints, and commence with x-rays. I know it is… boring, but it will be better in the long run.” he thanked, putting on a professional tone as he set the bag by a microscope. 

 

This was going to be a long, and bland, night.


	4. Tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff and hint at plot elements! some angst :(

Chpt 4

 

After getting the prints, Patton felt Jack’s posture straighten, and a worried look cross his face as Logan began to talk about the process of a CT scan.

 

“This procedure, it makes patients nervous, so your reaction is completely valid. I will give you an IV that allows us to see your brain more clearly, and the machine is virtually silent due to our advanced technologies in our Lab space.” he said, “It will take thirty minutes to an hour to get the images we need, but afterwards we can take a break.” Logan added, pushing up his glasses. 

 

Jack just nodded, and stood to be directed. Patton followed Logan and the snake man over to the machine where it was already prepped. Patton saw Jack get even more twitchy as he sat down and Logan attached the IV to his arm. He decided to step in. 

 

“Hey Jack, I’m going to need you to breathe with me. In and out. That's it.” Patton sat beside him, he was shaking, “I know things like this can make you very nervous but you are so brave, just remember to breathe. The machine won’t even touch you, you just need to sit still while we take a look, maybe we can understand what happened.” Patton spoke softly while he watched the visitor relax. 

 

“I assure you it will be more boring than frightful. I have had to go through and execute this task many times.” Logan tried to reassure, a sad expression flicking over his face for a second before he could school it. Any normal person would have missed it, but that was a problem for another day. 

 

“Now, I am going to need you to lay down on the bed of the machine. If you are exceptionally uncomfortable, we can give you sedatives to ease you to sleep before we begin.” Logan offered, and Jack violently nodded his head yes.

 

“Fine, I will retrieve them.” The doctor stepped away from the machine and walked over to another counter.

 

“You’ll be okay kiddo, I know that Logan won't let anything happen to you.” Patton spoke softly. 

 

“Robot…” Jack muttered, low enough so that on Patton could faintly hear him. 

 

“Now Jack, that wasn't very kind.” Patton chastised. He knew Logan must have had a reason to block emotions, and if you tried you could see he was very expressive. 

 

Logan returned with another syringe before Jack could get another word in, and proceeded to repeat the process. He cleansed the syringe and went back to the other counter as the snake was drifting off. 

“Patton, if you would accompany me to the observation and control room we can proceed,” Logan invited, arranging Jack’s now unconscious body on the tray. 

 

“Yep! Meet you there!” before Patton hopped off he saw the perfect small smile that Logan hid from view.

 

He sighed contently as he viewed the taller man from the window in the observation room. His slender hands expertly typing in codes and instructions to the machine and his handsome eyes focused. His face was neutral if not a little negative looking. He turned around suddenly and caught Patton staring. His eyes. The beautiful steel eyes that were focused on him made him melt and bubble up all at the same time. He shot a smile Logan’s way and waved a bit, and observed a shocked expression fall onto the doctor’s face before he tilted his head down and walked over to the room with long strides. 

 

“We are not required to tend to the computer while it takes pictures, records, and assesses data.” Logan informed stalking over to a spinny desk chair and gesturing to the one beside it.

 

Patton happily took a seat in the comfortable chair and let a sigh escape, then a yawn. 

 

“You are aware you don't need to accompany me yes? You can go get some rest…” Logan asked, looking down at the ground. 

 

“Aw, it’d be so boring alone though! I don't want you to fall asleep with how dull it is!” Patton giggled, and saw something cross Logan’s features again, he couldn't make it out though. His jawline and slicked back hair were perfect, but he looked troubled.

 

“Is something wrong Logan?” Patton asked cautiously. 

 

“N-no. of course not.” Logan straightened his back and his glasses. Patton really wanted to put his friend at ease.

 

“You know,” Patton rolled closer casually on his chair, “I’m a professional, I went to school for many years to get the proper training to help people with their issues, and I can sense you have a few.” Patton looked into Logan’s eyes with as much kindness and understanding he could muster. 

 

“Yes? And what have you deduced?” Logan asked, looking a small bit uncomfortable, but willing to listen. This was a good step. 

 

“That you close off emotions, most likely because you don't understand them, or you were told not to have them all your life. Maybe even both.” Patton ventured on carefully, seeing surprise slick over Logan’s face.

 

“May we... move onto other topics?” Logan asked, facing away to look at the computer screen.

 

“Sure, why don't you bring up some that you’re comfy with talkin’ about!” Patton said, using his non-therapy voice, and Logan un-tensed his shoulders. That was honestly a welcome sight in that he was calming, but also because Patton could see the muscles under his suit, and felt the giant urge to reach out and touch them. This was not the right time though. 

 

“Hm. why do you find cooking a satisfactory hobby and or career? I mean, obviously you are exceptional at it, I just wondered how you find it entertaining, I mean, of course cooking isn’t boring, I just meant to ask why you take part in it…” Logan began ranting, scrambling for words. 

 

“Cooking has been a hobby of mine since I was really young! Me and my moms’ and grandma would all cook together when we moved into grandma’s house. She had the best spices and exotic foods, and taught me the basic of all I know now. It takes heart and creativity to put yourself into a dish, and the best feeling is when people enjoy it and ask for more!” Patton explained, the memories were bitter-sweet though.

 

XxXxX

 

Logan noticed the fall in Patton’s shoulders and how his warm smile turned into a sad one. Oh no, emotions. 

 

“Sorry to… conjure up.. Less than ideal memories?” Logan struggled for words that would express his horror at making the sunny psychologist sad.

 

“Oh no it’s perfectly fine, you didn't know!” Patton straightened and the doctor somehow felt the need to press on. 

 

“Would you prefer to… converse? About it?” oh god, Logan knew how awkward he was and cringed at the words escaping his mouth. 

 

“Yeah, it’s just, when my moma died, my mommy, well, she got sick and just couldn't get better. After that my grandma up and left to go grieve, and it kind of left me in a stranded place. Thinking about all of us being happy is… it brings back a bit of that grief. I don't even know if Nana knows where I am, or if she is still alive… it’s something I’ve been keeping it down for awhile, but the longer I’m up here, the more I think about them.” Patton wiped the tears in his eyes. Oh no. emotions. 

 

“My mother died as well…” Logan attempted to comfort the usually bubbly man, “she died in childbirth, but my father was so… he was still grieving her all through my years of infantsy and so on. I was actually asked to call him ‘Mr.' and 'sir'. He was a doctor and therefore pushed me through college to get medical degrees and training.” Logan had talked too much. He just disregarded all of Patton’s feelings. Oh he was so bad at this. 

 

“Of course Patton, your life was much more difficult than mine. I should hardly be the one complaining…” he made it worse, how had he managed to make it worse!?

 

“I am not the best with emotions… I’m sorry for your loss…. I apologize for my incompetence when it comes to ‘cheering’ people up.” Logan added, not looking back at Patton for fear of what face he would be making. He had his eyes metaphorically glued to his shoes. Then he heard Patton get up and walk over. Oh no. oh please no, he didn't want this to happen again...

 

Logan felt soft arms wrap around his torso. He looked down to see Patton… hugging him. He froze completely. He had never been embraced before, and didn't know how to respond. He carefully wrapped his arms around Patton. The shorter man was so warm and soft, Logan didn't even know how to react other than to hold tighter. It felt like Patton melted as he fell into breath with Logan, so they were breathing as one. This was such an amazing feeling. His chest and face felt warm, and he felt something in his stomach, but otherwise his mind went completely blank as Patton sat down on his lap for a better hugging angle. Logan could have died content right there. 

 

Patton yawned and laid his head on Logan’s chest, and the crewmate made sure he didn't move too much as he wheeled over to the desk to check the monitor, which had began to produce images of the brain. He would look at it closer later, as he was already set to download the images onto his data bank. The man in his lap made the smallest noise and shifted so his legs were hanging over his lap and the chair, and the whole side of his body rested on Logan’s front. He could work around Patton like this. 

 

Patton was so confusing! Making him feel weird emotions and feelings, making him smile, having him open up about his parents?! No one did that. No one cared enough to. There had to be an ulterior motive here. Right? There was always a motive. Colleagues, professors, everyone who interacted with him always had terrible motives. 

 

Logan was broken from his thoughts by a small voice and a movement from Patton.

 

XxXxX

 

Patton looked up study Logan’s face, and saw his jaw was set and his eyes were glazed over, he looked very deep in thought, and judging by his expression they weren't good thoughts.

 

“Logan?” Patton asked quietly. He looked startled and stared down at Patton like he forgot he was there.

 

“Yes Patton?” Logan asked, his voice a distracted mumble as those piercing eyes pinned him on the spot. 

 

“You looked… sad and angry. Do you want me to get off?” Patton asked, really hoping he would let him stay. 

 

“No no, you're fine Patton. Just thinking.” Logan offered a smile. 

 

“Okay. Just… tell me if you need anything.” Patton said, he could feel Logan’s heart slightly quicken. 

 

Patton felt bad suddenly for being with Logan like this, he didn't even think about Logan or his preferences before being attracted and going for physical contact. He sighed and deflated onto Logan’s chest. He was probably straight or wasn't attracted to men, or maybe he was attracted to men and just not to Patton. Patton was an idiot. 

 

He felt Logan’s arms wrap around him hesitantly and instantly relaxed into the touch. His arms were so protective and strong, his sent clean and fresh. Patton didn't feel bad for falling for him now. He felt a hand slide through his hair and shivered with pleasure. Logan pulled his hand away quickly and Patton looked up to see Logan’s worried expression. 

 

“Was that too far?” he asked, looking scared. 

 

Patton just giggled and took Logan’s hand in his and placed it gently back on his head. Logan looked instantly relieved. He slowly resumed running his hand absently through Patton's hair with his long slender fingers. The screen on the desk beeped and Logan moved the chair closer, then reached around Patton’s body to work and type at the computer. Patton could feel his chest and arms move as he reached and moved around to work, and Patton felt himself drifting off. 

 

XxXxX

 

Logan finished his boring work after a long few hours and sat back with Patton in his arms. He had fallen asleep earlier and Logan couldn't find it in his heart to needlessly wake him. He needed sleep. Logan has seen things that had an infinitesimal amount of possibility today, and he was still surprised to see a small smile that rested on Patton’s face. Logan had already stopped the machine and had the tray slide out with Jack on it. When he would come to consciousness, he wouldn't have to wake up in the machine.

 

Logan suddenly felt so physically and mentally exhausted he found his eyes closing, and his mind drifting. Patton was warm and soft in his arms, and he smelt like spices and cooking. He snuggled closer and Logan couldn't stop himself from holding Patton tighter in his arms and relaxing. He gave a content sigh and let his eyes close. 

 

He fell asleep.

 

XxXxX

 

Jack sat up slowly, peering into the window where the two doctors fell asleep. He almost felt bad for what he was going to do. Humans. So predictable, so trusting, so willing to believe a sob story and simple acting. ‘I can only speak in lies’? What a joke. 

 

He got up carefully and slipped out of the lab to go seek the captain. He stepped down the halls that he had memorized the first time he walked through, until he found the main bridge where the captain was working. 

 

“Hello captain.” He mumbled. The man turned with a smile.

 

“Hi Jack! Want to go to your quarters?” he asked, standing up royally, Jack inwardly cringed at the idiot. 

 

He just nodded and fell into step behind the captain as he passed. All of these people were idiots. The prideful and arrogant captain, the emo younger mechanic, the mushy psychologist, and the robot doctor. The psychologist fell for the doctor, and oh boy was that going to be toxic, and the captain and mechanic hated each other. If what Jack was going to do didn't send them into chaos, they would do it themselves. 

 

They arrived at a spare room Jack would be sleeping in. Roman typed in the code and told him what it was, then told him they didn't need his finger prints to put into the database, and just the code would open the door. Jack nodded and headed inside, than bid the idiot goodnight and shut the door. He needed time to plan.

 

XxXxX

 

Roman walked away from the door back to the main deck to get back to work. He was absolutely swamped with reports and logs and god knows what else. Press was off the charts, different nations where sending broadcasts his way, the U.S.A. was freaking out with questions, and all he could give were vague answers, heck he didn't know anything! He was feeling the most stress he had ever felt in his life! Why couldn't they realize he had emotions too?! He just went through a terrifying experience, has had no sleep, and now has to answer to the whole earth by himself. He was one man for god's sake! He had to put on a brave face for Jack and the others, but he was being torn apart. 

He jumped as he heard the door open for a second time. He turned to see Virgil step into the room slowly. He sighed and turned back to the screen, not willing to deal with Virgil's attitude in this state. 

 

“Hey… Roman…” he said quietly, almost meekly. 

 

Roman waved a hand, focused on his current report back to the Russian government. He heard Virgil sit down on a chair to the left of him and begin working on something. After a bit of silence, Virgil spoke once again.

 

“So…”

 

“Yes?” Roman asked, irritated.

 

“Geez, what's wrong with you sunshine?” Virgil asked, his tone intrigued but sarcastic. 

 

“Reports! I have reports backed up for months at this rate!” Roman began ranting, spinning in his chair dramatically and furiously, Virgil visibly backed away a bit. 

 

“Are you… okay?” he asked, concern in his voice?

 

Roman realized he lost his cool and spun back to his desk.

 

“...fine…” he replied, angrily finishing the letter. 

 

“No you’re not.” Virgil interrupted again, tightening a screw.

 

“I said I’m fine…” Roman replied, gritting his teeth.

 

“Nuh-uh.” he pressed.

 

“What do you want me to say?! Hm?! That I’m stressed out of my mind?! On the verge of a mental breakdown?! Having to answer to the entirety of earth?! That I just went through a traumatizing experience and all I want to do is go under the covers and die there?! Is that what you want?!” Roman blew up. He was done with everything. Fuck it all. He felt the tears before he realized he was crying. What a sad excuse for a person. He angrily wiped the tears away with his sleeves.

 

“Do you… want a hug?” Virgil asked hesitantly. Then tried to recover. “I mean.. Uh.. never mind that was stupid… it’s just… it helps me when… no it was dumb…” he trailed off as Roman stood up. 

 

Roman stood over Virgil and looked down at the stammering mess. He was so tired. He fell to his knees in front of Virgil and collapsed, his anger and will to keep working drained out of him all at once. He laid down on the floor and hid his face under his arms as he rolled onto his back. He heard Virgil move off the chair and sit next to him. 

 

“I’m so tired of it all Virge, the governments of the world are all on my back, the press have accused us of so many things. Rumors and everything. I am still seeing those bodies when I close my eyes. I-I just, it’s our first night!” Roman felt the tears again. 

 

He felt a weight on his chest. He moved an arm to peek at it, and saw Virgil’s purple dyed hair sprawled out, and his face pointing up as he closed his eyes. Roman felt an odd calm wash over him and he let a sob escape. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Virgil said, his tone tired sounding. 

 

“F-for what?” Roman asked, tears still falling. God its been awhile since he cried out of stress.

 

“Being a dick.”

 

XxXxX

 

Virgil let himself smile as he felt laughter bubble up under him in the man’s chest. He tried to breath evenly to reassure Roman, whose breathing was obviously out of sorts because he was crying. 

 

“I s-should be apologizing.” Roman laugh/cried, “I was very rude from the start. You didn't deserve my judgment, or my backhanded comments.” he said seriously. Virgil felt shock rise.

 

“I never asked why you…. Dislike me…” Virgil tried to choose his words carefully. 

 

“To be honest, I don't even know. You just… gave me a look like you thought I was nothing. I’ve had that look too many times Virgil.” Roman gave a sad sigh under him.

 

“Same.” Virgil added, his voice devoid of emotion.

 

“Ooh do we get to unlock Virgil’s tragic backstory?” the captain asked, his voice amused but scratchy.

 

“You have to be a level 12 friend for that information Princey.” Virgil replied, with the same amused tone.

 

“Yeah? What level friend am I now?”

 

“Who says you’re my friend?” Virgil asked. He felt the captain deflate under him. 

 

“Joking, Roman, sarcasm.” Virgil assured, looking over to his face. Roman peacefully had his eyes closed, but a smile spread across his features. 

 

“Why are you smiling idiot?” Virgil asked, relieved that Roman felt better. 

 

“You admitted I’m your friend! You aren't so mean after all!” he exclaimed, opening his eyes.

 

“Just because you’re my friend doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be scared captain.” Virgil warned, putting on his best smirk. 

 

Roman looked startled for a moment, then chuckled. This was nice. The blubbering oaf was kinda cool while he wasn’t singing at the top of his lungs or insulting him. 

 

“Thanks for calming me down Virge.” 

 

“It’s payback for what you did earlier.” Virgil admitted, “It was very… cool, of you to… ya’ know, help me. Even when we weren't on the best terms.” He said sheepishly. 

 

“A captain must look after his crew members and friends!” he exclaimed, throwing his hand up dramatically. “What's with the nickname anyway, Mr. Cloudy day?”

 

“What nickname? Virgil asked, sitting up and stretching.

 

“The ‘princey’ one, where’s that one from?” he replied, yawning.

 

“You act like one of those princes from the movies, always being so dramatic and trying to be perfect. It fits.” Virgil shrugged. 

 

“I am a valiant and brave captain! Of course I have princely behavior!” he dramatically sprung to his feet. Then bent down and lent a hand to Virgil. He took it and was pulled to his feet. 

 

“Now! I need to inform the world that I am going to bed. They can get their reports after I get some sleep.” Roman walked over to the console with what looked like new energy. He typed down a few things and pressed a few buttons, then turned back towards him with a smile. 

 

“The German government is not happy about my rest it seems.” he said with a wide grin. Virgil felt a laugh bubble up in his chest and he hid his joy with a simple face palm at the dork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof this took forever,,,

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are much appreaciated, but you've probably heard that a million times...


End file.
